Summer, 2481 BC

Dear diary,

Today was probably the most joyous and eventful day of my life! A couple of hours ago, men in clean, linen skirts with the obnoxious aroma of myrrh perfume arrived in an enormous boat that was lined with gleaming gilt. We could see the dazzling boat travelling down the Nile river and as the boat docked at our hometown. My wife and I, as well as a couple of other villagers in our hometown, were whispering to each other and we stared at each other in confusion. No one had ever arrived in our little town before; that is one of the main reasons why I love living where I do. It is so peaceful and quiet in our community that it feels abandoned which I adore. All that I hear in my town is the rushing ripples of the Nile river and the cheerful birds fluttering above me while singing a choral melody together. I feel safe and reassured that my wife, who I would die for, and myself can live safely and start a family in this isolated location. The well-groomed men came to collect builders 'in the name of the king' and I was ecstatic when I heard this spectacular news. I immediately offered to go as I remembered being told when I was younger that we owe everything to the king, who is more commonly referred to as Pharaoh Khufu. Only males are allowed to do the building. Thankfully, I was told that my wife Mary was allowed to come too. We hopped on their luxurious boat and I watched my hometown become a blur of old shacks in the distance, and then all that I could see was the endless sky-blue water of the Nile river. The trees waved goodbye to me as the boat travelled further and further away. I stroked my hand across the carved outer golden lining of the boat. That was probably the most expensive thing that I will ever touch in my whole life! The elegant men gathered us in a circle on the boat and spoke. They promised us that we would be well cared for and well fed. This made me grin from ear to ear, I had never felt so privileged and important in my life! Then slowly, the day turned into night and the light-sky became pitch black with millions of glowing, beady eyes glued to the dark night sky.

2480 BC

Dear diary,

After 11 days of travelling down the Nile river, my wife and I finally arrived in Giza. It was a tremendously hot trip, but it was definitely worth it. I could smell dust dancing in the air which caused me to sneeze repetitively. The sound of chatting bombarded my ears as the new builders, architects and families were introducing themselves. My wife and I were led to our tent in a village, where we would be living for possibly our lifetimes, along with the other basic builders and their families. All of our beds and accommodation, healthcare, food and firewood to keep us warm is free. This made me feel so important, even though I knew that I was going to be doing the less important and exciting jobs in the pyramid building. I could not wait to begin this new life chapter of building the Great Pyramid of Giza.

The next day

Dear diary,

This morning I was sound asleep when I heard the other men exit their shelters, so I stretched and sleepily trudged out of my shelter to introduce myself to the other men. I waved Mary goodbye and planted a kiss on her left cheek as she squeezed my hands and wished me good luck. My heart boomed in my chest like a drum in a marching band. I am so nervous for my first day as a basic builder for the new Ancient Egyptian pyramid, and it is going to be the largest pyramid that the Ancient Egyptians have ever built. This exact day in 2480 was going to become world history, the day that the biggest pyramid begun to be built and I was going to be a part of this major historical building. As I thought about this in my head, I felt proud to live as myself for the first time in my whole life. I raised my head high to see the delighted sun smile down at me with its rays of heat blazing against my back and I could feel my toes burning in the thick, soft sand. This feeling of comfort and happiness overtook my mind and body; this was a moment in my life that I would never forget. A couple of hours went by and I babbled with the other basic builders about their families and lives, until I heard an ear-splitting trumpet blow. I immediately knew that it was business time and all of us men huddled together and stood tall with respect. Then the Pharaoh, his vizier and the architects strolled in front of us and explained to us our roles in the building of this great pyramid. The architects showed us a model of the pyramid as they always make a model before the actual building commences, and the model helped me to create a picture in my head of the outcome which made a rush of adrenalin and enthusiasm electrify my whole body. I have learned so much today from the Pharaoh, vizier and the architects about the project that we are going to be completing. Firstly, I learned that we are building the Great Pyramid of Giza to be Pharaoh Khufu's tomb when he dies, the inside of this pyramid is going to hold his tomb and burial chambers. I dread that day as I have admired our Pharaoh as he is like the Sun who keeps our earth and lives steady. I also learned from the intelligent architects that the shape of a pyramid represents the rays of the sun, and the shape of a pyramid has sloping slides so when our Pharaoh dies, he can climb to the sky where he will there live forever peacefully and happily. After that brief introduction, I was told that we were allowed to return to our tents. I couldn't wait to tell Mary that I got to see and watch the Pharaoh right in front of my own pair of eyes. When I arrived back into my tent to share my splendid day with Mary, a waft of meat and strong alcoholic beverages greeted me pleasantly. We were delivered our daily dinner meal which consisted of meat, grain and even beer! These meals are so much better than back in my hometown, and since being at this building site I have not had to worry about starving or not being able to source food for Mary and I as we are provided with colossal amounts of food that keep our bellies constantly as full as the moon on a bright, starry night. Tomorrow we start building and I am beyond excited!

My first day working!

Dear diary,

Today I was awoken from my sleep at the crack of dawn as a trumpet was blown and startled me! Although we do get fed throughout the day, Mary had woven me a papyrus plant basket in which I packed some leftover meat. I also packed this diary which is my only prized possession that my father had given to me before he passed away. I scurried out of my tent and met with the other men who were all simultaneously yawning, with bags drooping from the bottom of their eyes. We travelled to the quarry and I could not remove the wide grin that was plastered on my face. I couldn't wait to get my hands and feet dirty like a wild pig rolling in the mud, and I am really looking forward to helping with the building of the Great Pyramid of Giza which is going to be known for future generations and be part of human history! I am going to be working in the quarry as a quarry worker with the other men in my village for possibly my whole lifetime. I can already tell that some of these men are going to become some of my greatest friends. In the quarry, it was very structured, controlled and organised. There were over 1500 men in the quarry, but we are all skilled with something. I am skilled with strength, so I was given the job in the quarry to slice limestone stones out of rocks using razor-sharp, copper chisels. My chisel was constantly becoming blunt and it was rather frustrating, but I quickly learned how to sharpen it by using some of the limestone stones. There are many of us doing this job, so we formed gangs/hauling teams and named our gangs to help pass the time and make our jobs more fun. My gang is called 'Khufu's drunkards' but I didn't choose the name if my children are currently reading this! All of the gangs/hauling teams, including ours, would race each other to the building site. It was extremely competitive today and elbows were used as weapons by everyone. It was so much fun! Once our gang arrived at the building site after the race against the other gangs, I panted like a dog and lay on the floor with the blazing rays of heat from the sun burning my stomach. We would haul limestone stones with my gang up to the building site of the Great Pyramid of Giza and when I first saw the building site my eyes were as wide as saucers. The builders were singing songs together and heaving monstrous materials to each other. The scent of sweat rushed like ripples of ocean water travelling towards my nostrils and made me cringe with disgust. I had never smelt something so awful in my life, but the scent proves how hard the builders are working! The construction was moving quickly and every time we hauled limestone up to the building site, new sections and layers of the Great Pyramid of Giza were being added. Each limestone block weighed 2.5 tonnes and the pyramid needed 5 million tonnes of these stones! Every time I grasped a chunk of limestone or a large stone after striking a rock with my chisel, I could feel my tender, aching back cracking like an egg. I am now really stiff and sore. My battered hands are covered in dirt and scattered in throbbing, irritated blisters. I have marks on my hands from the outline of the chisel. I have been holding that chisel for almost the whole day! At the quarry, I worked for almost a whole day today and now I am shattered. Even though today has made me feel overly exhausted, my job is actually very important which makes me feel like I belong. Without the limestone that I dig up, the builders would not be able to create the blocks which make up the pyramid, and the scribes, who are extremely important in our ancient Egyptian society, write on these blocks which I have contributed to make. The sun is now beginning to die, and the sky is angry with the colour of ruby, oozy blood. Soon I will be going back to my tent to rest up and prepare for another busy day of working in the quarry with my gang. I can't wait!

20 years later

Dear diary,

I am so sorry that I haven't updated this diary for around about 20 years, but it has been haywire and hectic building this pyramid. After 20 years of hard work and pain, we have finally completed the Great Pyramid of Giza. It is 147 metres tall and 230 metres wide. Yesterday was the day when the last limestone block was laid at the top of the pyramid and once it was placed, everyone roared like lions and cheered with delight and the plants danced in the breeze. The last 20 years of my life have been dedicated to constructing this pyramid and when that block was laid, I dropped onto my knees and hysterically cried a pool of tears. As I sat on my knees, I thought about all the memories that I had made during the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza. The sound of chisels stabbing into rocks filled my ears, and the taste of dirt sneaking into my mouth during digging in the quarry flooded my brain. I squeezed my new friends from my gang in the quarry tightly and promised them that I would never forget them. But I do miss my hometown and I am looking forward to travelling on a boat down the Nile river back there tomorrow morning. Also, diary reader, this experience has brought me so much closer to Mary. She has supported and helped me through every good and bad moment during the construction of the Great Pyramid of Giza. I have such great news; we have decided to try for a baby! I will update you tomorrow diary reader, so stay tuned...

I hope you enjoyed this story! Thank you so much for spending your precious time to reading my work, it means the world to me! I hope you liked the ending!!!! Pls comment, vote and follow my account, I really appreciate it!!!!😁💖Feedback is definitely ok, but only helpful criticism that is not too harsh, otherwise my self esteem will drop even lower than it already is...🤣😂Soph xx